African rock art and World Heritage: context, safeguarding and prospects for the future

This paper addresses the processes that informed the designation of these African sites as well as their safeguarding. It shows that UNESCO played an important role in encouraging their designation beginning with Tiya. Thereafter, the threats to the rock art sites are investigated followed by issues surrounding their management, including interpretation, community engagement, and the paucity of resources for their protection. This is done by drawing on input from colleagues with responsibilities for their management along with incorporating insights from academic and grey literature. It is shown that these non-renewable sites are vulnerable to damage and destruction from multiple natural (including zoological) and human sources, with the threats deriving primarily from the latter, which appear to be mostly unintended, such as the kicking up of dust and the making of fires within sites, although wilful acts of vandalism and looting are known. Current and possible future community involvement in the safeguarding of resources is addressed along with different ways in which this and other management interventions can be enhanced.